The plea deal of Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, remains a central point of contention in an ongoing court case involving his spouse, Michelle Bond. Salame's guilty plea, made in September 2023, included charges of conspiring to make unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He admitted to making political donations in his name to support initiatives backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, with funds originating from Alameda Research and classified as loans.

Bond, who is Salame's wife, faces federal campaign finance charges and is seeking to have the case dismissed, arguing that U.S. prosecutors deceived her husband to induce his guilty plea. She was charged in August 2024 with conspiracy to cause unlawful campaign contributions, causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, causing and receiving an unlawful corporate contribution, and causing and receiving a conduit contribution related to her failed run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022. Prosecutors allege that Salame directed $400,000 in FTX-linked funds to her campaign. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Salame's legal team initially attempted to nullify his plea, claiming the agreement was contingent on prosecutors not pursuing criminal charges against Bond. They argued that the government used plea negotiations to "threaten" Bond and promised to cease their investigation into her if Salame accepted the deal. However, Salame later dropped the complaint, stating that Bond would address the matter as part of her case. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison and reported to prison in October 2024.

Prosecutors deny breaching the plea agreement with Salame, stating they made no promises regarding potential indictments against Bond. They claim they clarified with Salame's lawyers that any plea agreement with him would not halt ongoing investigations into Bond. In a court filing, prosecutors stated that Salame's claims of government breach are "wrong on the facts and the law". The filing also revealed allegations that Salame used personally identifiable information from individuals "identified as Thai prostitutes" to open accounts at FTX and supervised bribe payments to immigration authorities. Prosecutors noted that Salame did not raise these claims before his sentencing.

This week, Bond will return to court for an evidentiary hearing in her criminal case. Her legal team has requested that a federal judge allow her to testify, despite prosecutors' objections. Prosecutors had argued that it was unlikely Bond could offer testimony relevant to Salame's plea agreement involving allegations of campaign finance fraud. Bond's attorneys argue that her testimony is relevant because her and her husband's state of mind when entering into the plea agreement are directly relevant to the issues before the Court.